Revisión crítica sobre la legalidad del branded content en MasterChef España

Abstract

MasterChef Spain is a tv-programme on Radiotelevisión Española, the state public medium, which operates under a specific financing law. This law prohibits advertising and permits the use of sponsorship only within specific limits. Since the programme began in 2013, brands with advertising interest have appeared in it, frequently masked in hybrid formats such as branded content. Our research considers whether these brands exceed the legal limits of sponsorship, leading to examples of covert advertising, another illegal practice. Methodologically, we combine documentary research with content analysis. The results describe the advertising representation and relevance of these brands. In turn, they provide evidence on the existence of advertising contracts in MasterChef that justify the promotion of certain institutions through the branded content format, a new infraction since paid institutional advertising is not permitted on Radiotelevisión Española. The original contributions are the specific analysis instrument to question the legality of branded content on public television in Spain and the documentary evidence of the contracts. Among the study’s limitations, we consider the problematic access to private brands accounts; this would open a new line of research in which we would seek advertising contracts for private brands present in MasterChef.